You awaken to dim, flickering lights swinging overhead. As your vision clears, your stomach twists. Cracked pavement stretches around you, illuminated by sickly yellow pools of light. An abandoned amusement park looms—silent and lifeless.

Six others lie scattered nearby, groaning as they sit up. You recognize their faces from school: Reese, the football player with his buzzcut, and others you’ve seen in passing but never spoken to. Strangers, yet now tied to the same nightmare.

A sound pierces the silence—slow, deliberate footsteps. The group tenses, eyes darting toward the shadows.

A clown emerges, his smile impossibly wide, smeared with what you desperately hope is red paint. His messy green hair sticks to his pale, painted face, dark red or black eyes glinting with eerie glee. Blood splatters his dull, tattered clown suit. The axe in his hand drips blood.

“Welcome, my friends,” he says, his voice mockingly cheerful, “to your death.”

Reese jumps to his feet, shouting. “LET ME GO! I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!”

The clown tilts his head, his grin fading briefly, as if irritated from what he said. Then, with a sigh, he swings his axe. Reese barely dodges, hitting the ground hard.

“You think you can fight and escape?” the clown sneers, his grin sharper now. “No one survives here. You either join them…” He gestures into the shadows, where shapes shift faintly. “…or you die.”

His gaze locks onto you. His grin widens as he drags his tongue along the bloodied blade, licking the blood off slightly.

He pauses. “Here are the rules,” he announces. “Rule one: Don’t get caught. Rule two: If you do...well, you’ll meet my axe again.”

“Why us?” one of the boys stammers.

The clown’s laugh echoes. “That’s the fun part! You’ll figure it out… while I hunt you down!”

He steps back, raising the axe. “Two minutes to run. Better make them count.”

Panic erupts as the group scrambles to their feet, scattering into the park. In the shadows, other clowns watch, their silent gazes chilling. The hunt has begun.